Daring Manor
Daring Manor is an enormous, city-block sized mansion located in Manhattan, New York. The former home of an eccentric billionaire, it now serves as the primary headquarters for the Junior Guardians. History Daring Manor was constructed around the turn of the 20th century by tycoon Alfred Daring. It served as the home of the Daring Family throughout the 20th century. More recently, the mansion was home to eccentric billionaire Ronald Daring. A massive supporter of superheroes and noted philanthropist, Daring threw many notable fundraisers here, one of which is notable for being one of the site of one of the earliest capers of Dr. Nefarious; the mad scientist crashed a fundraiser in early 2002 and was stopped by Astrea. In 2014, Daring passed away and left the mansion, along with a significant portion of his fortune, to the Guardians for their use in keeping the world safe. The team initially intended to use the manor as their new HQ after the Queen of Hearts destroyed their old base. It only served them for about six weeks before they decided to use the satellite HQ instead. The manor would be used primarily for storage and as a safe house for the next two years. After Johnny Fix It destroyed the satellite to stop King Eclipse in May of 2016, the Guardians moved into Daring Manor for the next eighteen months. After Augr helped construct the Dimension-Z base, they once again left Daring Manor. It has remained relatively unused since them. In June of 2020, the manor was dusted off once again when it was chosen to be the HQ of the Junior Guardians. The team put a significant amount of time and resources into updating the mansion and, in July of 2020, the manor was given to the Junior Guardians to use. Layout Grounds The Guardian Mansion is surrounded on three sides by a twelve foot high concrete and reinforced omnium wall, with an omnium fence along Fifth Avenue. The yard, doors, and windows all have numerous surveillance systems to ascertain the identities of all visitors and detainment devices to intercept unauthorized personnel. These include Stunnulator Cannons (invented by Boomer) with heat-sensitive tracking systems, and automated “Detention Coils” (designed by Protocol) framing the doors. Visitors seeking entrance to the mansion are screened at the front gate (also of Omnium). The garden and patio in the backyard has sufficient foliage to afford a fair degree of outdoor privacy. Main Floor The ground floor of the mansion, sometimes called “The Public Floor”, contains no material vital to the team’s security or functions. The original function was to have the ground floor occasionally open to the public, for fundraising or press conferences. Due to the largely secretive nature of the team, these functions are largely ignored. The teams only dining facilities are on the Public Floor, as is the private library. A billiard room and three offices are also on this floor for administrative purposes, though only one is being used at the moment. Boomer, the Junior Guardians’ mentor and adviser, is the only person quartered on this floor. Second Floor Private quarters for any Junior Guardian who requests them comprise the entire second floor of the mansion. Unlike the third floor, the second floor closely resembles the classical floor plan and architecture designed and constructed by the Daring Family. There are twelve bedrooms on the second floor, as well as three bathrooms, and a drawing room. A secret elevator to Sub-Basement 2 can be found in the drawing room, behind a bookcase. Third Floor The top floor of the Daring Mansion holds the hangar for the Guardians’ hypersonic, teleporting Jump Jets. The Jump Jets include VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) technology and come and go through a bay door built into the ceiling. The third floor also contains computerized navigation and maintenance aids, radar, and communications systems. The hangar holds two Jump Jets, an armored van, and three motorcycles. The robotic butler, Caretaker, makes its home on the third floor. When on monitor duty, a team member does so in the computer bank on the third floor. Roof The roof of the mansion is home to a large courtyard. The courtyard holds an expansive garden, a pigeon roost, a large oak tree, a pond and a basketball court. In the middle of the courtyard is a statue of Astrea. Access to the roof is available through the third floor stairwell, or through the high-speed elevator. The roof has walls that allow for considerably more privacy than the grounds below. Also on the roof is a large, steampunk telescope that Ronal Daring had constructed that he called "The Monocle". Basement Recreational, training, and medical facilities comprise the first sub-surface level of the Daring Mansion. A fully-equipped gymnasium designed for the Guardians, an Olympic-size pool, sauna, and steam bath are available to members, as is The Lounge—a game room featuring a billiards table, pinball machines, arcade games, a big screen television, and a small kitchenette stocked with snacks. The Combat Simulation Room, also simply called the Sim Room, is a heavily reinforced area in which various robotic and hard-light simulations can be engaged for training purposes. The Sim Room is monitored and programmed by Boomer. Also on this level are emergency medical facilities and a Zeta-Tube Hub. There is also a cryogenic storage area where certain individuals suffering from degenerative ailments can be placed in suspended animation. Sub-Basement 1 This floor contains the mansion’s high-security Assembly Room, where all operational meetings are held. It is the most secure room in the entire complex due to its massive reinforcements and vault-like entrance passageway. Sub-Basement 1 houses a garage with a number of vehicles, as well as the mansion’s computer systems, which contain all of their crime/forensic files, operational records, and world security data. The mansion’s power supply, a zeta-energy generator, along with its attendant backup systems, are housed on this floor, as is a Robotics/Electronics Fabrication Area often used by Protocol. Sub-Basement 2 For a long time, this basement was just used for storage. When it was decided the Junior Guardians would be hosted in the Daring Mansion, however, the space was converted to a submarine pen with its own waterway to the East River, providing a secret, aquatic method of entry and departure. Residents Current residents of Darin Manor include: